Pope Francis prays after opening the holy door in St. Peter's Basilica on Dec. 8, launching the extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. (L’Osservatore Romano)

| Dec. 8, 2015

It’s Time to Rediscover God’s Mercy, Pope Says at Jubilee's Opening

The Dec. 8 opening of the Jubilee of Mercy, an extraordinary holy year, coincided with the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. The Holy Year will close Nov. 20, 2016, with the Solemnity of Christ the King.

ANN SCHNEIBLE/CNA/EWTN NEWS

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has officially commenced the Jubilee of Mercy, calling those who pass through the newly opened holy door to rediscover God’s mercy and experience the mystery of his love.

“This extraordinary holy year is itself a gift of grace,” Pope Francis said in his homily for Mass, just before opening the holy door in St. Peter’s Basilica.

“To pass through the holy door means to rediscover the infinite mercy of the Father, who welcomes everyone and goes out personally to encounter each of them. This will be a year in which we grow ever more convinced of God’s mercy.”

Mercy, he said, must be placed before judgment, though “God’s judgment will always be in the light of his mercy.”

“In passing through the holy door, then, may we feel that we ourselves are part of this mystery of love,” he said. “Let us set aside all fear and dread, for these do not befit men and women who are loved. Instead, let us experience the joy of encountering that grace which transforms all things.”

The Dec. 8 opening of the Jubilee of Mercy coincided with the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. The Holy Year will close Nov. 20, 2016, with the Solemnity of Christ the King.

The jubilee was officially inaugurated by the opening of the holy door in St. Peter’s Basilica. Pilgrims who pass through the door, which is only opened during jubilee years, can receive a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions.

Pope Francis presided over the rite of the holy door’s opening before passing through himself. He was followed by Benedict XVI, the pope emeritus, who attended the rite in one of his rare public appearances.

The opening of the door is meant to symbolically illustrate the idea that the Church’s faithful are offered an “extraordinary path” toward salvation during the time of jubilee.

Pope Francis, in his homily, spoke of the holy door in connection to the day’s Gospel, which recounts the angel Gabriel announcing to Mary she would be the mother of God.

“We carry out this act, so simple yet so highly symbolic, in the light of the word of God, which we have just heard,” Pope Francis said. “That word highlights the primacy of grace ... God’s grace enfolded her and made her worthy of becoming the mother of Christ.”

When Gabriel entered Mary’s home, “even the most profound and impenetrable of mysteries became for her a cause for joy, faith and abandonment to the message revealed to her,” the Pope continued.

Pope Francis’ reflection in his homily centered on the Immaculate Conception, celebrated Tuesday, and described the feast as an expression of “the grandeur of God’s love.”

“Not only does he forgive sin, but in Mary he even averts the original sin present in every man and woman who comes into this world.”

“The fullness of grace can transform the human heart and enable it to do something so great as to change the course of human history,” he said.

The Pope made reference to the day’s first Mass reading, the Genesis account of man’s fall in the Garden of Eden.

“The words of Genesis reflect our own daily experience: We are constantly tempted to disobedience, a disobedience expressed in wanting to go about our lives without regard for God’s will,” he said.

“Yet the history of sin can only be understood in the light of God’s love and forgiveness. Were sin the only thing that mattered, we would be the most desperate of creatures.”

“The promised triumph of Christ’s love enfolds everything in the Father’s mercy,” the Pope said. “The Immaculate Virgin stands before us as a privileged witness of this promise and its fulfilment.”

Pope Francis concluded his homily recalling the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s closing, which is also commemorated Dec. 8. He stressed that the Jubilee of Mercy is a challenge for us to the “openness” inspired by the Council.

The Council was “a genuine encounter between the Church and the men and women of our time,” in which the Holy Spirit “impelled the Church to emerge from the shoals which for years had kept her self-enclosed, so as to set out once again, with enthusiasm, on her missionary journey.”

“Wherever there are people, the Church is called to reach out to them and to bring the joy of the Gospel,” the Pope said.

“The jubilee challenges us to this openness and demands that we not neglect the spirit which emerged from Vatican II, the spirit of the Samaritan, as Blessed Paul VI expressed it at the conclusion of the Council.”

In his Angelus address delivered after the opening of the holy door, Pope Francis called the faithful to look on the Immaculate Conception as a reminder that, “in our life, everything is a gift. Everything is mercy.

“May the Blessed Virgin, the first fruits of the saved, the model of the Church, holy and immaculate Bride, loved by the Lord, help us to rediscover the mercy of God more and more, in a way characteristic of Christians.”

The Pope said the opening of the Jubilee of Mercy is an occasion to look on the Immaculate Conception “with trusting love, to contemplate her in all her splendor (and imitate) her faith.

“In the immaculate conception of Mary, we are invited to recognize the dawn of the new world, transformed from the saving work of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

The Jubilee Year of Mercy does not tell us that everything is going to be OK. It is clearly spelled out that you cannot obtain mercy without justice. Do some reading, study, and pray.

Posted by Lorenzo on Wednesday, Dec, 16, 2015 12:54 AM (EDT):

pogothe2nd
It is sad to think your parish priest does not preach from the pulpit about sin and damnation. Homilies are intended to expand the understanding of the scriptures for the day. Sin is covered in homilies as is the Lord’s promise for salvation. Every parish has available booklets for the examination of conscience for adults and children. Parents are the first educators and should be counseling their children on right and wrong, mortal and venial sins. Have you taken the time with your children to do the same? I believe God will hold us responsible for forming our children. This formation is not solely the responsibility of the priest and his homily.

Posted by pogothe2nd on Tuesday, Dec, 15, 2015 12:23 PM (EDT):

I certainly agree with Jim (Dec 8, 2015 12:56 PM (EST)) on the evasion of any discussion on sin and sinfulness in the Church. The pulpits are silent on the subject, being happy repeat to the congregation what the scriptures said that were just read. With all of the evils in the world, the Jubilee of Mercy tells us everything is going to be OK. How about a Jubilee of Justice? Of course not. That would be against the feel-good mentality the is skewing the Church. We are drifting ever closer to the denial of Hell by insisting God is All-Merciful, negating any everlasting condemnation.

Posted by Lorenzo on Friday, Dec, 11, 2015 3:21 PM (EDT):

Robert:
Thank you for the information you provided on your contribution to preventing WWW III. I do not find your statement prideful at all. Your contribution is surely appreciated. Your work was evidence of good stewardship! I don’t believe anyone could question your effort as a “lacking of sufficient faith” but would believe that your contribution came from your desire to protect the environment. (not a potentially sacrilegious heresy, nor an arrogant challenge to God’s plan - God will guide mankind). The erroneous authority to interpret every scripture’s meaning often lies in the minds of so many who use it to derive personal honor or gain. God bless you Robert for caring about God’s creation.

Lorenzo:
Following is my response to your prior comment: “If the Pope chooses to say something about climate change he is just as free to pray that we humans, believers or non-believers, who are stewards of our environment, and must share nature’s goods with all mankind.
You and Pope Francis I are encouraged to study the last paragraph of TODAY’s first reading from Isaiah Chapter 41, versus 13-20: “The afflicted and the needy seek water in vain. Their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the Lord, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake the. I will open up rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the broad valleys; I will turn the desert into a marshland, and the dry ground into springs of water. I will plant in the desert the cedar, acacia, myrtle, and olive; I will set in the wasteland the cypress, together with the plane tree and the pine, That all may see and know, observe and understand, That the hand of the Lord has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.”
You and Pope Francis apparently do not yet understand or agree that God has clearly told Man through the prophet Isaiah that God creates climate change for the good of man. Man’s arrogance to believe that man has more power over the climate than God could easily get into the heresy or even blasphemy realms. Some people also lack sufficient faith to believe that, now and in the future, God will guide mankind to be part of God’s overall plan to change the climate for the good of all, not for the destruction of the earth’s climate. Pope Francis I has admitted his own limited knowledge about the science of climate change but is sadly depending on climate change zealots who derive personal gain in following this unproven, unscientific, potentially sacrilegious heresy. Pope Francis I has tons of personal charisma which could have helped him end abortion during his papacy, but instead he chooses to focus on things of the earth (climate change) instead of things of God (all of God’s children achieving the salvation of The Lord). FYI, I am a retired system engineer who addressed atmospheric science and other technical problems of worldwide scope and created innovative solutions which contributed to preventing WWIII during the Reagan and GHWB eras. I do not say this out of pride, but only to make it unnecessary for you to tempt me to pride by asking me again (paraphrasing your prior post), “What have you done for mankind lately?”

Posted by Dr.Cajetan Coelho on Thursday, Dec, 10, 2015 5:42 AM (EDT):

Mercy is the core of humanity and humanity is at the core of every religion.

Posted by Jim on Wednesday, Dec, 9, 2015 11:40 PM (EDT):

Lorenzo, Yes I do have an edition of the CCC and a good number of books on the faith on my Kindle. It’s not just that the nuns were leaving their teaching positions. Many were in conflict with the teachings of the Church. Read the book Unholy Rage. I happen to live in a diocese where the bishop was in conflict with then Cardinal Ratzinger who at the time was developing the CCC. Bp Raymond Lucker developed his own catechism which he titled “The People’s Catechism”. He was one of only a few bishops in the US to openly oppose St John Paul’s paper Ordinatio Sacerdotalis on an all male priesthood. His legacy lives on in “Call to Action” - access their website. It also lives on in MN in the form of dissidence and contempt for the magisterium among some of the priests of the diocese and some directors of religious education. Our son went to a notable “Catholic” college which, in the day contained a seminary. He was indoctrinated in the acceptability of same sex “marriage”. It isn’t just a matter of poor catechesis. It often takes the form of direct opposition to the CCC. In a MN parish a priest praised the legalization of same sex “marriage” from the pulpit and received a standing ovation from the dissident congregation he had cultivated.

Posted by kmk on Wednesday, Dec, 9, 2015 7:46 PM (EDT):

All sins hurt, that’s why there is mercy and the greater the sin, the greater the mercy.
I believe that one of Pope Francis’s goals for this JY of Mercy is for all of us Catholics to inform others (including many Catholics) of the loving life-freeing effects of going to Reconciliation.
Our current culture is attempting to eliminate the word sin and all that goes with it, but you and I know that it’s not working.

Posted by Lorenzo on Wednesday, Dec, 9, 2015 2:51 PM (EDT):

@ Jim….You are correct that catechetical formation was sorely lacking. Much of it had to do with Nuns/Sisters leaving their vocation as teachers. Add to this the resulting drop in priestly vocations and voila you have arrived to where we are today. Sounds simple but it is not. Scientific progress has lightened the labor of many who have used the time gained to find entertainment and other distractions that were more appealing than prayer and worship. We can no longer sit on the sidelines and lament our situation. We need to act and act before this millennal generation produces more lost souls. God will judge us for not individually jumping it to save generations to come. Parents who are properly catechized can define “Sin” to their children. The Church has many teaching aides. They are as close as the internet. Do you own a current edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church? Will you be found wanting? Will I?

Posted by Lorenzo on Wednesday, Dec, 9, 2015 2:31 PM (EDT):

@Robert Fisher…Those aborted babies are martyrs of these times just as were the first martyrs, the babies, who were killed by Herod. These are in heaven by virtue of God’s Mercy, not ours. The Church abhors these crimes and has spoken against them time and time again. Are you not paying attention? If the Pope chooses to say something about climate change he is just as free to pray that we humans, believers or non-believers, who are stewards of our environment, and must share nature’s goods with all mankind. We do not own nature nor can we treat it as though it is our to do with as we wish. If you are so concerned about abortion tell us what you are doing about changing your community, city, or State. Doing something positive is better than writing in to complain when the Pope expresses one of many messages that need discussion. Be a Saint! What else is there?

Posted by Jim on Wednesday, Dec, 9, 2015 2:01 PM (EDT):

Francis in his ignorance has given every priest the power to forgive the sin of abortion. What he is missing is that these women are deeply scarred emotionally and spiritually and require special pastoral care that not every priest is capable of providing. I have encountered women who have fallen into deep depression and alcoholism. Mercy for them is helping them- and their damaged families to recover. Project Rachel exists for that purpose-but there is no universal program for recovery. Without it many women will continue to suffer from the toxic effects of their abortion; nightmares of the event, self hatred and depression, anger, distancing in their marriages, repeated failed relationships with men, frequently more abortions, alcoholism, problems with parenting and other kinds of behavior destructive to the family. Limiting forgiveness to certain priests isn’t about making it more difficult for women. It’s about making sure they get the right kind of help. Taking care of the wounded is going to take more than the opening of a special door and making proclamations. Sin, particularly the sin abortion hurts. St John Paul detailed it in Evangelium Vitae but the teachings of that great man are only smoke in the rear view mirror these days.

Posted by Nancy D. on Wednesday, Dec, 9, 2015 12:00 PM (EDT):

And in rediscovering Salvational Love, God’s Gift of Grace and Mercy, let us not deny The Word of God, but repent and believe!

Posted by Donna Latteri on Wednesday, Dec, 9, 2015 1:04 AM (EDT):

When we make a “right judgement” as we are called to do as Christians, we must also look with eyes of mercy to those who have anything to do with abortion. Yes, Mr. Fisher, our pulpits are not speaking enough about showing mercy to those who are sitting in the waiting rooms. What is driving Christian girls and boys to kill their own child? Do they not feel loved? Are they not offered mercy? Do they feel embarrassed to let their pregnancy be known? All of the above. We must speak loudly from the pulpit that our churches will help support as best we can those mothers who discover they “got caught” in their sin. As a young single, I lived a double life, one foot in the church, the other on the edge. I got pregnant—but the first person I ran to was my priest…who offered me mercy, forgiveness, and a guiding hand. We must reach out to all involved in this abortion business and do the same. This includes abortionists…there is a reason they are killing our young—they must be blinded by their sin. Pray for them. See you on the front line! Donna

Posted by Peter Jensen on Tuesday, Dec, 8, 2015 10:11 PM (EDT):

At the height of the child abuse scandal in the Church, I openly advocated that the Pope and all of the Cardinals should sit outside in St. Peter’s square to show that they are doing penance for the sins of the Church. Maybe that would be a good thing for them to do in this Year of Mercy, in order to demonstrate to the faithful that Mercy involves confession of one’s sins, as well as accepting the forgiveness that God has for each of us.

Posted by Dr.Cajetan Coelho on Tuesday, Dec, 8, 2015 4:05 PM (EDT):

God of mercy and compassion - hear our prayers.

Posted by Jim on Tuesday, Dec, 8, 2015 1:56 PM (EDT):

In order to believe mercy one has to believe in one’s sinfulness. The disappearance of lines leading to the confessional coincided with priests and bishops failing to define sinfulness. For about 50 years it has been fashionable ovoid the subject of sin lest the one talking about sin be accused of being “judgmental”. The Church has always been merciful, the door to the confessional has never been closed but the people no longer saw a need.. The Church has always offered forgiveness for even the greatest of sins. I remember over 50 yrs ago talking about that with a Protestant girl who expressed the idea, “God could never forgive me for what I’ve done.” But “Mercy” becomes meaningless without the concept of sinfulness- a concept lacking in so many because they have not been properly formed in their faith.

Posted by RAFAEL ESPINOSA on Tuesday, Dec, 8, 2015 12:58 PM (EDT):

So I guess we can stop praying the chaplet of divine mercy? I thought mercy has always been available to everyone.

Posted by Robert Fischer on Tuesday, Dec, 8, 2015 12:47 PM (EDT):

“In his Angelus address delivered after the opening of the Holy Door, Pope Francis called the faithful to look on the Immaculate Conception as a reminder that, “in our life, everything is a gift. Everything is mercy.” (end of quote of Pope Francis)
COMMENT: God in His Mercy sent Mary and Joseph from Bethlehem to Egypt to save Jesus from Herod’s massacre of the infants. It is time for Pope Francis and the rest of the Episcopate of the Catholic Church to follow God’s example and offer MERCY AND LIFE to the 30 million babies aborted in the world each year by addressing their plight ahead of solving man-made climate change. Then the Catholic Church could once again address the prophesy of Jeremiah the prophet (Matthew chapter 2, verse 18), which is still rampant in our times:
“A voice was heard in Ramah,
sobbing and loud lamentation;
Rachel weeping for her children,
and she would not be consoled,
since they were no more.”

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